No problem, kid
by Icybun34
Summary: He died and left behind a lot to be remembered by. Written from Kisame's POV but not a KisaIta fic. Contains: SPOILERS, character death.


She came to his funeral.

She was a tiny little thing with long blue hair and deep expressionless eyes. Her long hair fluttered in the breeze as her mouth hardened into a painful line.

She walked up to his grave in prideful, agitated strides, carrying a bouncing bubbly toddler in her arms. That kid had been Itachi's pride and joy.

I remember when he first found out that his lover was due to give birth. He had been mercifully kind that day. Kind enough to even let Deidara live when his explosion had obliterated half of the hideout.

Kami-sama, I remember the day clearly.

"_Yo kid? You alright?" I had asked, swiping some of Tobi-chan's dango from the refrigerator when no one was looking. _

_Itachi looked up at me and offered a small, rare grin "Samiya is with child." He said softly, his usually cold eyes glowing with excitement. I wonder if Itachi will ever notice how much she's changed him._

_I shot a toothy grin back as I offered him some of Deidara's precious dango "When's she due?" "6 months." He stated "I think it's a girl." My smile grew wider "What makes you say that?"_

_He shrugged, popping a piece of the dango in his mouth and I chuckled "Already developing your paternal instincts, ne?" _

_He looked away and I caught the fear in his eyes. He was scared. Uchiha Itachi was scared. I grinned at him again, trying to convey my confidence that he would be a good father and said "For all it's worth kid, I know you'll make a good father."_

Samiya walked up to his grave and quietly, without warning struck out a slammed her fist in the tree next to her, splitting it in half. Her baby gasped and giggled. She pointed to the tree and stared at it in amazement, something I knew Itachi would smile at.

"_Don't you dare say anything about this." _

_He turned and glared at me, warning me not to say anything as he picked up her up and twirled her around in the air. I bit my lip in order to contain the laughter as I sunk in the shadows, not wanting to intrude in the special moment. Itachi chuckled as he coaxed laughs and squeals out of his pride and joy, cherishing this rare moment of light in his dark existence._

_Samiya rolled her eyes at the corny scene, grinning like a madman as she skipped forward and latched on to Itachi, gently cooing at her precious baby. _

_It took me a while to realize why I was there. But then I realized that Itachi was showing me. He was showing me what he was risking by being here. He was showing me that his life wasn't over. He was begging me to help him keep this secret. He was showing me what he had to lose._

_I grinned, remembering the lifeless teen that I had been partnered with so long ago as I gently waved to Itachi, showing him that I understand. He nodded and I walked off, leaving them to bask in the happiness it took so long for them to achieve. _

Samiya clenched her eyes shut in grief before burying her face in his daughter's short spiky hair. The child looked down at the newly dug grave and then back at her mum before wrapping her arms around her head comfortingly.

Samiya let out a choked sob and held her child close to her "Mahari." She cried, pressing her daughter close to her. "Toto-chan loved you Mahari. You have to remember."

"_Her name's Mahari." _

_I looked up from the mission report "Ano… ok?" Itachi smiled tiredly "My daughter. Her name's Mahari. Uchiha Mahari Kione. It means divine maiden. It suits her." Pride gleamed in his eyes as he slumped down in a chair. _

_I raised an eyebrow "How long was she is labour?" Itachi's face grew exhausted "18 hours. She just woke up a couple hours ago." I chuckled "Poor girl. Didn't know what she was in for." Itachi paled "She threatened me." _

_I laughed at his face as he slumped down even further "Is that why you came back early? Scared what's she's gonna do when the sedatives wear off?"_

"_Women scare me." "Ha, just wait till Mahari's a teenager." "… Hn."_

I hate witnessing people I know in pain. It's different when the person is unknown to me and I can just wave their sadness off as something trivial; but when they've been a big part of my recent life, it's hard to watch. Itachi was the same way.

I began to approach her, knowing that it was unforgivable that I just stand in the shadows while they suffered. I couldn't let Itachi's family just suffer.

"_What's qualifies as a family?" _

"_Huh? Nan de?" I looked up at the mystified Uchiha "Samiya keeps using the term 'family'. Do she and I qualify as one?" I raised an eyebrow as I quietly sipped my nihonshu. "Well, no not yet." _

_I've never seen Itachi look so crestfallen. I ran my fingers through my hair as I sighed "No, no let me elaborate. You're not one, yet. You gotta have kids first." He looked up at me "Is that all?" "Well… yea I guess. But you've gotta love the kids, too ya know?"_

_I saw worry pass through his eyes and it took a few moments for me to register that I had actually seen an emotion pass through Itachi's apathetic eyes. I grinned at that and said "Relax kid, by the look on your face, I say by the time you got munchkins of your own, you'll know damn well how to love them."_

"_Hn."_

She whipped into a fighting position before I even got close to her, wild rage flashing in her eyes.

Once she saw it was me, she lowered her guard, allowing Mahari to poke her head from behind her mum's leg in order to stare at me.

Samiya bit her lip and hugged me when I came closer, whispering her gratitude for me over and over "Thank you so much! For all you've done for us. Covering for Itachi, lending us money when Mari was born. Thank you so much." Her voice was hoarse with grief but sweet and child-like. Signaling she was way too young to be going through this sort of thing.

I ruffled her hair when she pulled away and plucked an envelope out of my Akatsuki cloak. I handed it to her quickly, explaining "Itachi left that, I guess to pay me back for the money borrowed. And I know he wouldn't have given it to me if he didn't have enough for you two but still I-" "No! I can't!" She objected, shoving the envelope back at me "You already gave us so much."

I smiled "I know but-" I winked at Mahari and said "This money's for the little one over there. So that she can pursue whatever dreams she may have. Itachi did always say she was gonna be great."

Tears pooled in her eyes as she accepted the envelope. She wiped her eyes and smiled at me "Y-You were 'tachi's best friend. He trusted you with everything." She gulped and said "I don't know how to thank you. I've never been the best with this kind of stuff."

Well, I knew that.

I remembered the night when he had first met her. He had been pissed alright; you just had to know him to be able to tell.

_He stalked into the kitchen, opening the refrigerator and grabbing some nihonshu with suppressed agitation._

_I blinked in surprise as he slammed the refrigerator door closed and looked up "Yo kid? Bad night, ne?" Itachi looked up and glared, his icy stare burning into me with a promise of an early demise. "Hn."_

_Still, I handed him a cup for his__nihonshu and pressed on "What's bothering you?" Again, I received the glare but I looked up at him expectedly till he answered "The new informant."_

_I bit my lip to hide my amusement from him and feigned ignorance "Maa… so you met her? Hidan said she was a__ bijin." Itachi frowned "Hn."_

"_What, so does she have a shitty personality or something?" I asked, wanting to know how this girl managed to infuriate the infamous Uchiha in such a short period of time._

_Itachi filled his glass to the brim "She is obviously a child of the streets." He growled. I laughed at his face, causing his sharingan to spin wildly. "Manners don't seem to be of much importance to her, huh?" Itachi nodded as he downed the nihonshu. "So you don't like that much then, ne?"_

_Itachi's frowned deepened and he took a hearty sip of nihonshu. He furrowed his brows and glared at the wall "On the contrary, I think that I like her very much."_

I had thought at the time that it was some joke. I had thought that Itachi was just merely using her for his own twisted purpose. I had been wrong though.

I crouched down on the ground and took something out of my cloak. I grinned at Mahari and winked "Hey, Mari-san. I have something for you. It's from your toto-chan." Mahari's ear perked at that and she stumbled forward towards me. Her grin reeked of confidence and I was thrilled to see the little reminder of Itachi in her smirk.

Her black eyes, that were so much like her father's, stared into mine with pride as she asked "What did toto-chan leaf me?" I laughed and handed the present to Mahari.

She blinked for a few moments before tearing the paper off. She plopped down on the ground, staring at the tiger plushie before hugging it tightly to her chest. Samiya managed a watery grin "The tiger is my clan's symbol." She explained. "And 'tachi's favorite animal."

"Mari-san, look around the tiger's neck. What is it?" My kid skills weren't the best but I kept my voice light, trying not to frighten the young girl. She held the plushie out at arm's length and grasped the chain off of its neck. She held it and showed it to her mum.

Her mum stifled a sob when she saw what was in it. It was a locket, containing in it a picture of them all laughing and smiling. Mahari was just a baby.

I looked at the picture of Itachi and then back at his daughter. Laughing, when she gave me a small Uchiha smirk. I grinned back and said to Samiya "She's a mirror image of him."

Her mother smiled and I said softly "With that grin and that pride, Itachi won't ever truly die. He'll live in her with that damn cocky personality that made him who he was. But in her happiness, the happiness that he so desperately craved. He'll never be completely gone."

With that I handed her a key to a flat in a nearby fishing village as I left. Itachi did get killed but he wouldn't die. He'd live in their hearts and Mahari's future. He won't ever die.

"_Thank you."_

_I stared up at the Uchiha as he walked in, stumbling blindly as he did so. He was dying, that much was clear. I helped him into his seat but he fought to do it on his own, whispering "Thank you" over and over again._

_I handed him his medicine and said "No problem kid. I'm your partner; it's what I'm 'posed to do." He took the medicine and stared blankly at the wall "When I came here, I was lifeless. I was my own worst enemy and you still helped me." _

_I smiled and he said "Leader-sama said that you're the one that recommended that I meet the new informant." I laughed and he looked up "My worst fear was that I'd die with no one left to mourn me. You found out." I shrugged "I dunno, kid. If you say so."_

"_Kisame?" _

_I looked up at him as he managed a weak smile_

"_Thank you."_

I grinned as I walked along, knowing that Leader-sama would find my letter of resignation soon.

"No problem, kid."


End file.
